
Treatment GuideJust DiagnosedSex & DatingAfrican AmericanStigmaAsk the HIV DocPrEP En EspañolNewsVoicesPrint IssueVideoOut 100
CONTACTCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
Scroll To Top
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Whodathunk the nightmare of still searching for an apartment in New York City would be a welcome diversion from my life's real drama'deciding whether to start taking my AIDS meds. I've been procrastinating over this decision since September 2003 while I was enduring the shock of learning that after 13 years of coping with HIV, I had progressed to an AIDS diagnosis. Taking the drugs might be a no-brainer to some, but for me, the answer ain't so easy. For every Lazarus tale I've heard from my AIDS-med'taking comrades, there's been a warning from a survivor of the debilitating side effects. My current doctor in Manhattan says I should follow her recommendation'choke down the drugs'but I've been fighting that default position by health care providers ever since I was diagnosed back in Chicago in 1990, way before viral load tests or protease inhibitors were federally approved. It took me two years to regroup and follow up with a physician at a Chicago public-health facility, and on my first and only visit there the doctor told me that AZT was my best lifesaving option. I took pause, though, because I'd known or heard of too many boyz in my hood who had died early on while taking the treatment. Rumors perpetuated by the Nation of Islam and local holistic therapists said that blacks were dying because of the drug's toxic side effects. Weighing a choice between listening to my doomsayer doctor'who predicted that, even taking AZT, I wouldn't live beyond five years'or following my gut instinct, which said not to, the decision seemed obvious. I didn't see a doctor for another five years. In 1997, heartened by Magic Johnson's continued optimism about living long with HIV, I started over at a new clinic. The new drug cocktails trumpeted in the media also compelled me'but I wasn't sold. It wasn't long before my doctor and I were in a deadlock. I balked at his insistence that I immediately begin the barely approved therapy; he thought I was stubborn for not accepting the long list of potential side effects as par for the course. Some veterans at an African-American HIV support group that I attended labeled my actions as classic denial, but I saw it as cautionary. No matter, I had numbers on my side: a T-cell count of 800 and a viral load of only 8,000. According to government guidelines, meds were still unnecessary. I felt vindicated by my stance in 1999 after switching to a third clinic. I'd reached the holy grail of AIDS care'an undetectable status'and did so while remaining treatment-naive. On my progress notes my nurse scribbled that I was 'stable and possibly a long-term nonprogressor,' but even my being a medical anomaly didn't make her bat an eyelash. Whatever I was experiencing, she shrugged, was probably temporary and not worth her interest or enthusiasm. Already leery of the medical establishment, I had a hard time trusting her judgment after that or following her recommendation to start taking meds when my virus rebounded. That nurse was the last health care provider I saw before I moved from Chicago to New York in 2000. Since then it's been a slippery slope. My T-cell count has plummeted to 40, a dangerously all-time low, and my viral load has spiked to 230,000. I've argued against taking meds for so many years that now, with my numbers stacked against me, I find it hard to stop. I keep weighing potential side effects against the ill alternative'opportunistic infections'and I can't decide which is worse to my mind. I just can't decide. Whitfield is one of the nation's leading journalists reporting on AIDS among African-Americans. A frequent Vibe contributor, he is based in New York City.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Lexi Love comes out as HIV+ after Trump deletes federal resources
January 23 2025 11:23 AM
Ricky Martin delivers showstopping performance for 2024 World AIDS Day
December 05 2024 12:08 PM
Trump's orders prompt CDC to erase HIV resources
January 31 2025 5:29 PM
California confirms first case of even more deadly mpox strain
November 18 2024 3:02 PM
This long-term HIV survivor says testosterone therapy helped save his life.
December 16 2024 8:00 PM
Plus: Featured Video
Latest Stories
HRC holds 'die-in' to protest Trump health care cuts
April 28 2025 2:11 PM
The Talk Season 5 premieres this spring with HIV guidance for the newly diagnosed
March 26 2025 1:00 PM
Jess King is here to help you live your happiest, healthiest life yet
March 24 2025 4:35 PM
Gerald Garth is keeping people of color happy and healthy through trying times
March 11 2025 3:38 PM
'RuPaul's Drag Race' star Trinity K Bonet quietly comes out trans
December 15 2024 6:27 PM
Hollywood must do better on HIV representation
December 01 2024 9:00 AM
Post-election blues? Some advice from mental health experts
November 08 2024 12:36 PM
Two right-wing Supreme Court justices signal they may uphold access to PrEP and more
April 21 2025 4:10 PM
500,000 Children at Risk: PEPFAR Funding Crisis
April 08 2025 3:51 PM
Discover the power of Wellness in your life
March 26 2025 12:41 PM
BREAKING NEWS: Trump admin moves to end federal HIV prevention programs
March 18 2025 6:10 PM
Celebrating Black History Month with our annual African American issue
February 01 2025 3:28 PM
Plus nominated for 2025 GLAAD Media Award
January 22 2025 12:42 PM
AIDS Memorial Quilt displayed at White House for the first time
December 02 2024 1:21 PM
Broadway's best raise over $1 million for LGBTQ+ and HIV causes
April 03 2025 7:15 PM
Season 4 of The Switch on resilience & radical self-love returns this spring
March 26 2025 12:20 PM
Tyler TerMeer vows to continue to fight for health care for all
January 28 2025 3:00 PM
A camp for HIV-positive kids is for sale. Here's why its founder is celebrating
January 02 2025 12:21 PM
Decades of progress, uniting to fight HIV/AIDS
December 01 2024 12:30 PM
Climate change is disrupting access to HIV treatment
November 25 2024 11:05 AM